Am Buachaille

Sea stack in Highland, Scotland

58°32′15″N 5°05′30″W / 58.5374°N 5.0918°W / 58.5374; -5.0918Physical geographyHighest elevation65m[1]AdministrationCountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomLymphad

Am Buachaille is a sea stack, or vertical rock formation composed of Torridonian Sandstone, 1 mile (1.5 kilometres) southwest of Sandwood Bay in the Scottish county of Sutherland. It lies at the tip of the Rubh' a Bhuachaille headland around 5 miles (8 kilometres) north of Kinlochbervie.

The stack is 65 metres (213 feet) high[2] and was first climbed in 1968 by the mountaineers Tom Patey, Ian Clough and John Cleare.[3][4] At least four climbing routes are identified on Am Buachaille which is considered a "famous" sea stack climb[5] and has been called the "most serious of 'the big three' Scottish stacks"[6] and a "truly great stack".[7] The easiest route is graded Hard Very Severe (HVS) and access to the stack involves a 30-metre (100-foot) swim at low tide.[6][8]

The name means "the herdsman" or "the shepherd" in Scottish Gaelic.[3][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Am Buachaille". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. ^ Am Buachaille Sea-Stack, Sandwood Bay Archived 28 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Welcome to Scotland. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  3. ^ a b Sandwood Bay is a beautiful beach shrouded in mystery, The Scotsman, 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  4. ^ Sandwood Bay on walkhighlands.co.uk
  5. ^ Am Buachaille, UK Climbing. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  6. ^ a b c Latter.G & MacInnes.H (2009) Scottish rock volume 2 - north, Pesda Press (p.297).
  7. ^ North West Highlands. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  8. ^ Scottish sea stack Archived 2014-02-18 at archive.today, Planet fear, 2005-10-10. Retrieved 2014-02-18.